Downtown Cincinnati developer creating infrastructure for region

Oct. 12, 2013

Developer Erin Kidwell is leading the OpenDataCincy effort. / The Cincinnati Enquirer

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What data set do you want to see?

The OpenDataCincy: Non-Profit Challenge is a contest to uncover Cincinnati-related data sets that are not yet available to the public. Non-profit organizations across the city have nominated data that would help them accomplish their missions and improve our region. Now, you can vote for the data set that you think should be open and available. The top three data sets will earn cash prizes for their nominators and the assistance of the OpenDataCincy team in opening the data for public use. Go to www.opendatacincy.org to vote. Submissions deadline is Oct. 30.

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In Boston, they call it the Adopt-a-Hydrant program. Citizens volunteer to dig out the city’s more than 13,000 fire hydrants after heavy snowstorms, a task traditionally reserved for the city’s fire department.

Residents sign up using an app developed by Code for America, which integrates fire hydrant data from the city. The efficiency illustrates why cities across the country have embraced open data platforms, which facilitate transparency and community engagement.

Local developer Erin Kidwell is building an open data infrastructure in this region. With help from the Haile/U.S. Bank Foundation, Kidwell is securing support from a range of government and civic organizations including the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, City of Cincinnati, Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority and Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky.

The web portal OpenDataCincy launched in September and already is being populated with data sets and applications related to the region. Now Kidwell is moving on to Phase Two: Gathering feedback from the community on regional data sets that are not yet available to the public.

The ultimate goal is a portal that engages the community and allows users to sort, analyze and transform that information into useful tools, maps and visualizations. For example, Kidwell would love to see an app that integrates Metro bus schedules and routes with child-care centers that have open seats to help working parents manage stressful mornings. Allowing parents to reserve spots for their kids through the app would be even better. Computer science students at the University of Cincinnati are currently working on that project.

“We think when we pool something into one area, people will see how it can overlap into different solutions that you can see an immediate impact from,” Kidwell said.

In December, The Atlantic highlighted 10 open data efforts across the country. In San Francisco, data were used to show that 5 percent of that city’s streets accounted for 55 percent of serious pedestrian injuries, helping the police department focus its traffic safety investments.

After Honolulu provided the location of tsunami warning sirens, Code for America built an app that allows citizens to “adopt” warning sirens and listen for problems during testing. Code for America, a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to improving communities through technology, is an OpenDataCincy partner, along with Soapbox Cincinnati.

Eric Avner, Haile Foundation vice president and senior program manager for community development, helped Kidwell convene a meeting with key government, civic and nonprofit stakeholders earlier this summer to gauge their willingness to participate. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

“I think they were just waiting to be asked,” he said. “We thought it would be this hard sell, talking with government leaders or talking with nonprofits, and a little bit more of an education process. It turned out that everybody was raring to go on this thing.”

Scott Stiles, an assistant city manager for Cincinnati, said it’s a no-brainer. The city’s Rules and Government Operations Committee is establishing the framework to work with OpenDataCincy.

“It’s all about transparency, and the information belongs to the public, so if there’s a good way that we can push it out to people, that’s a good thing,” he said. “And there are people who can do good things with the data, who can come up with new apps and new services. They can come up with things that we either don’t have the time, expertise or knowledge to do.”

Kidwell is taking this year off from working full-time to focus on projects about which she’s passionate, like OpenDataCincy. The former finance analyst for Sun Chemical has continued in her role as coordinator for the local chapter of Girl Develop It, a New York-based startup that helps women learn to develop software.

Kidwell, who is from Rabbit Hash, studied informatics and communication at Northern Kentucky University. She moved Downtown after college and has become deeply engaged in the city. She serves on the advisory board of Enjoy the Arts and is a member of the Downtown Residents Council.

Among this region’s strengths, as articulated by Agenda 360 and Vision 2015, is the ability of people to make a difference and engage with community and business leaders at a high level. Stiles says Kidwell is a perfect example of that strength.

“I hear from a lot of young people that one of the reasons they wanted to relocate to Cincinnati was they felt like they could make a difference,” Stiles said. “Erin is a perfect example of that. She could really have quite an impact on how we do business.” ⬛

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